Martin Meerkat by Sadia Nowshin

Although Sadia's story was not selected for the Wild n Free book, it still has a very important message about animals belonging the wild... enjoy

Martin Meerkat





by Sadia Nowshin (aged 13)

Martin looked sadly at the stalk of the berry he had been meaning to eat. Looking back at Mark and the rest of the meerkat bullies, he sighed, this is always going to happen if you don‟t learn to stand up for yourself, Martin! he thought to himself. Once again, Martin had had his snack cruelly snatched away from him. Sighing again, Martin went back to his home.
         “Hello Martin!” Uncle Mick said cheerfully as he entered the house. Martin simply nodded in reply. He was still a bit upset over his stolen berry.
         “Was it that menace Mark again? “ Martin's mum asked softly. 
           Martin sadly nodded. Uncle Mick got up to his feet, and Martin knew what was coming.
          “You know, if your dad was here, he'd give that Mark a good pounding! Monty was't afraid of anything, not even the starving coyotes! Have I ever told you about the time when...”
          “Yes, yes, the time when Dad fended off a hound of coyotes armed only with a twig. You‟ve told me a million times,” Marin said. He couldn't help being a bit snappy, it was just that Uncle Mick was always going on about his dad. Martin dad, Monty Meerkat, had walked out to find a source of water when there was a drought where he lived. But then, he'd never been seen again. Martin had only been a pup, but his uncle Mick was always telling him stories about the heroic antics of his dad. One of the reasons that Mark bullied Martin was because of the fact that Martin was nowhere as adventurous as his dad had been. Martin hated it when people compared him to his dad, especially as he'd never even met him properly.
         “Well, I'm off to bed then. Night,” Martin said to his mum and his uncle, before climbing into his bedroom. As he lay on his bed of dead leaves, Martin wondered what his father would be like in person. Would he be funny and kind, or would he be snappy and dry? And the big question, what would he think of Martin? With his head filled with thoughts of his long-lost dad, Martin drifted into sleep.


A month later, and Martin was off to the watering hole to collect water. The watering hole was on the edge of his territory, and no-one had ever gone beyond that watering hole. Except for his dad. Standing in line, waiting for his turn to fill up, Martin daydreamed. Suddenly, the people in front of him started to mutter excitedly. Martin wondered what was going on. Out of nowhere, a strange buzz had started in the watering hole. Straining his neck, Martin realised that there was no way he could see what was happening, there were far too many adults in front of him, all of them blocking his view. Frustrated, Martin tried to listen intently instead, but there were too many people talking at once. Finally giving up, he tapped the meerkat in front of him.
        “What‟s going on?” Martin asked him.
         “He's back! Monty‟s back!” the adult told him, clearly very excited.
          Shocked, Martin didn't react. His dad was back? 
          Suddenly, his day-dreamed fantasies seemed very real. Hoping nobody would notice him, he started to creep away very slowly and very quietly. He was out of luck.
         “HEY, MONTY‟S BOY IS HERE TOO! GET OVER THERE KID!” someone shouted from the top of a tree. Martin froze and grimaced to himself. This was NOT how he had wanted to meet his dad! Standing up straight, he turned to face the watering hole again.
        “Hey, Son.” A deep, gruff voice came from the very front of the watering hole. Slowly, Martin walked towards his dad. He still couldn‟t see him, but gradually, the crowd parted. A young-ish, handsome, muscly, tanned meerkat stood facing him.
        “Hi Dad,” Martin said. And every animal standing near the watering hole applauded and cheered.


Back at home, Monty was explaining to his family how he'd travelled to a foreign place, named  "The Zoo". He said it was horrific, all these poor, defenceless animals cooped up in cages, with strange beings called "hoo-muns" shouting and staring at them all day, every day. Monty then explained that he had nearly been captured by a hoo-mun, and so he'd fled. And eventually, he'd ended up here, back home.
       As Monty finished his story, Martin's mum and Uncle Mick had tears in their eyes.
      Then Monty turned to his son.“Martin, you must think I'm terrible, leaving your mother alone to bring you up, and then turning up suddenly. I'm sorry, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and accept me again as your father.
       Martin then looked into the brown eyes of his father, smiled, and then hugged him.
      Martin bonded beautifully with his father, and they always went on little adventures. Mark and the rest of the bullies respected Martin now, and stayed well away from him, as they were afraid he'd tell his dad to beat them up. So, in the end, Martin's fantasies about his father turned into reality, and the gap in Martin's perfect family was filled.




About our young author
Sadia spends most her time listening to music, screaming whenever One Direction is mentioned, and tending to her imaginary chickens, Betty and Hooper.